Different
by Once.A.Queen.Of.Narnia
Summary: Someone has a secret to tell Gordon and it isn't a nice one. How will this young Tracy take it and will it affect the family forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Look who has appeared from the dark to post a new story! I know...I know! It has been aaaaages since I posted anything here, but I've been really busy in real life and then I just had lost my muse to write anything! However, I have returned with a story and a new genre! THUNDERBIRDS!**

**I know I usually do Narnia, but my twinnie (loopstagirl) made me fall in love with the Tracy boys and I've made this for her fangirl and to cheer her up! :DD I don't own any of the characters, apart from the nasty people! **

OMOMOMOM

Lying his head on his freckled arms, Gordon Tracy let out a sigh as he looked around the classroom he had been frog-marched into sitting in. Scott was going to kill him. He hadn't intended to be stuck in detention today! Actually, he had tried really hard to make sure that all the teachers had nothing to complain out which, in his opinion, was boring but if it kept him in their good books, then he would do it. Blame Jessie Carmichael. Everything had been going swell until Carmichael had opened his mouth. It wasn't Gordon's fault that the school loudmouth had ended up walking into his fist. Okay, it was but he couldn't walk away from the things that...never mind. All he had been told to do was to sit there with a cold compress on his eye and to keep quiet. Now, normally that would be hard for him to do as he was 'louder than life' according to his grandma. Today, however, it wasn't hard at all.

Gordon scowled at the door, his blue eyes narrowed, almost daring the door to open. His perfect day had been ruined and now it was going to end up with his gory death. The echo of footsteps signalled that someone was coming down the small corridor to the classroom and, not ready to meet his doom, he tucked his head into his arms as if hoping that no-one would see him there.

"Gordon?"

He jolted at the voice, both in surprise and a more burning shame.

It hadn't been Scott that had come to collect him. It had been Grandma and from the tone of her voice, he could tell that it carried both a sense of concern and a hint of disappointment. He knew that violence wasn't something that his grandmother adhered to. Gordon pulled his head up a fraction to look at her. He owed her that much, but couldn't get himself to look her square in the eyes.

"I'm sorry to call you, Mrs Tracy; however, I believe you will understand that the school has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to violence involving our students," Mrs Neilly stated, her eyes kind but holding the strictness that came with being a teacher.

"Yes, and I can only apologise for Gordon's behaviour," Dorothy replied with a smile. "He will be spoken with by his father when he gets home."

Gordon cringed at the mention of home. If there was anywhere in the planet that he didn't want to go to, home would be that place right now.

OMOMOMOM

"Alan, what did you do with my shoes?"

"Why are you blaming me for losing your shoes?"

"Because you were the one who hid them last time!"

"But..."

"Alan..."

"Fine, they're under Nessie's basket."

If there was something that Scott could do, it was to get information from his little brothers. It had to be some talent that all big brothers had, but as he didn't have one of his own, he used it on the others with a smile. Shoving the last piece of dinner into his mouth, Scott pushed himself away from the table and headed towards the front door to look under the wicker basket that lay next to it.

Nessie was a new addition to the family. The Tracy's first dog; alright, so the dog wasn't real due to Virgil's allergies to animals with fur but he could remember fondly that both Virge had gone through a phase where he wanted to go against his allergy and desperately wanted to have a pet like all of his friends. After a lot of protest, John had come up with the idea of buying a fake one that looked and felt like a proper dog, but there wasn't much looking after and the risk of Virgil sneezing and coughing his lungs up.

There was no reason why Scott actually needed his shoes, but he had needed something to do when they waited for their grandmother to pick Gordon up from school. He had been on his way out to go and fetch his little brother when they had received the phone call. It still shocked him that Gordon had actually gotten into a fight with someone. He was pretty popular in his grade and due to his 'class clown' nature, he had quite a lot of friends so to find out he had thumped someone was a shock. Scott grabbed his shoes from under the basket, eyes never leaving the window of the front door. They would be home soon and if he had his way, he would find out the whole story. Something big had to have happened to rile his red-headed brother and as ultimate big brother, it was his duty to find what.

Click.

They were home.

Straightening himself up, Scott unlocked the door and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the gradually growing bruise building around Gordon's eye and the bloodied split lip. They weren't kidding when they said he had been going for it.

"Hey kiddo, what happened?" he replied, reaching out to put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

Gordon, however, shrugged away from Scott's reach and pushed past him, head down and walking quickly towards his bedroom. Shock and concern seemed to be at battle in the eldest Tracy child as he heard the door of his brother's bedroom slam shut. A sigh made his head turn and he quickly followed with the same when he saw the look of loss on his grandma's face.

"Grandma, what happened?" he asked, shutting the door behind her, all types of thoughts racing through his mind, trying to figure out what had caused all this.

"It looks like Gordon had a...disagreement with another boy at school," she replied, following her grandson into the kitchen and resting herself down at one of the chairs at the kitchen table. "No-one knows what caused it and unfortunately your brother refuses to say what started it."

What was he going to do? Their father was on a business trip in New York for Tracy Industries and he wasn't due home for another few weeks. He could always call him, but he knew how busy their dad was on business trips and didn't want to worry him while he was at work. Grandma did try, but they knew once Gordon went into a mood, there was no getting him out of it until he was ready. They had tried and failed many times.

That problem didn't stop Alan though.

As the two youngest brothers, both he and Gordon had formed some sort of bond as the other had with each other which meant sometimes he was sometimes he was able to succeed where his other brothers failed. Hearing the story from the stairs, he thought for a moment before deciding on a plan of action and headed in the direction of the bedroom.

"Gordo?" he whispered, knocking on the door.

"Go away,"

"Oh come on, Gord, this is me! You think go away is gonna make me budge?" Alan grinned, looking at the door with his arms crossed.

He listened for a moment and then felt his grin widen when he heard footsteps approaching the door. A click and a slight open of the door was all it took for Alan's grin to fall and be replaced with a look of concern. The image of the bruised Gordon with red-rimmed, swollen eyes and a few fallen stray tears had made completely forget what he had wanted to say. He watched Gordon brush his cheeks with the back of his sleeve, eyes staring anywhere but at Alan.

"G, what happened?" he muttered, trying to think what could possibly make the happiest member of the family look so broken and upset.

"S'doesn't matter," Gordon mumbled with a sniff. "Look, I'm tired. Can I talk later?"

Alan looked unsure, but seeing the almost pleading look in his eyes, he nodded. Gordon gave a quick ghost of a smile and clicked the door shut. With one last look at the door, Alan headed back downstairs, intent in getting all the information from either Scott or Virgil.

OMOMOMOM

Back inside the bedroom, Gordon was sitting his bed, his fingers clenched round a small piece of paper. Taking a slight breath, he unravelled it and felt the corner of his eyes sting as he read the words on it.

It read: _You're not a Tracy. You were adopted._

OMOMOMOM

**Nooo! Don't kill me! I know it's a nasty way to finish this new fic and I know this has been done tons over, but I wanted to explore Gordon's feelings a bit more and to obviously bring out some of that amazing Tracy fluffiness!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! I never expected people to actually review my story, apart from loopstagirl! She has to because we're family! Thank you so much for the lovely things you all said! I'm still getting used to dealing with the Tracy boys and the whole TB fandom so be easy with me! Oh, and I am British so feel free to correct me on anything! It all helps me learn! (;**

**Thanks to loopstagirl, Tikatu, cmiddleton and .wombat for leaving reviews! I will reply to them soon because you need hugs!**

**I still don't own any of the Thunderbirds or the characters, apart from the mean ones! Haha!**

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A couple of days passed since the fight and ever since then, Gordon had not spoken as much as a word to anyone. It was as if he had withdrawn into himself and only came out of his room for school, food, the bathroom and a drink. Whenever someone tried to get into a conversation with him, all they were met with were a few sounds and the occasional nod. It was so out of the ordinary and, being the mother hen, Scott was beyond worry. No-one had seen him like this since just after their mother had died.

Scott had tried for a long time to push that particular moment of their past far from his mind, but it was times like this when it was flung right to the front with such a brutal force that he winced. Alan had been too young to remember much about their mother, but Gordon, though only a couple years older than the youngest, seemed to understand exactly what had happened and hadn't been happy about it in the slightest. Going from a child that didn't know the meaning of 'stop' to one that didn't move or do anything in the slightest was bound to be noticed by someone. It wasn't until a month or so after that something (and to this day no-one knew what) had made Gordon laugh. Whatever it had been seemed to break the solid silence and before they knew it, they were yelling at him from yet another little prank. Something told Scott that this would not be as easy to solve.

He sat at the kitchen table of yet another morning, a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice cupped between both hands. It was times like these that he wished he was younger, just so he could keep a closer eye on his brothers. Taking a small sip, Scott heard the echo of some nearing footsteps coming down the stairs. With years of practice and the fact that they were a little quicker than most, he knew even before the kid came around the corner that the footsteps belonged to Alan.

"Morning, sprout," he smiled, taking in the mass of blonde bed hair sticking up in all directions. "Managed to get Virge up this morning?"

Alan scoffed as he grabbed some pieces of toast from the plate in the middle and poured himself a glass of orange. "We are talking about the same brother here? Virgil? The dead would have more luck waking up than him!

"And Gordon?"

Alan stopped buttering his toast for a moment, an uncharacteristic sour look taking over briefly.

"He's up, but I think John snuck him some toast earlier before he headed out," he replied, looking up and sighing.

At least they knew he was eating; however, Scott would have to have words with John taking him food when they knew it would be better if he ate with the rest of the family. With one last sip of his juice, he pushed himself away from the table and collected his plate. "Alan, when he comes down...keep an eye on him, will ya?"

A brief nod was that was needed before Scott headed up to get ready. He could rest easier knowing that at least someone had their eye on his red-haired brother.

OMOMOMOM

Being the last stop before for school usually had its advantages. The school bus always came past their house last so they had a while to get things ready and make sure everything had been packed for the day or, in the case of the youngest three, their grandmother had packed them a lunch bag and had put it near the front door for them to grab on their way out.

"Gordo! Virge! You better get a move on if you want the window!" Alan yelled, pulling on one of his sneakers and giving it a quick tie.

One eye may have been on the shoe, but the other was watching the stairs and doing as it had promised earlier. Gordon duty. Never had the youngest seen his nearest brother so slow and without energy. He couldn't remember a time when they were younger where Gordon wasn't running around like a lunatic or pulling some wacky prank just to get a laugh out of someone. It just wasn't normal! Eventually, he saw him walking down the stairs, jacket on, fake smile in place and yet eyes elsewhere. Alan frowned down at his feet. There was something on his mind, but what was it?

"Did you know that Grandma is dating Mr Hudson across the road?" he said suddenly with a small grin, straightening up and grabbing his jacket from the hook.

"Mm," Gordon mumbled with a nod.

"And that Johnny got awarded for blowing up school?"

"Yeah..."

"Oh, and that you were secretly adopted when you were younger!"

"_What?_"

Before he knew what was happening, Alan felt his back hid the back of the wall hard as Gordon shoved him back, eyes burning with a fire that he had never seen present in them before. Never had a look of such anger been thrown in his direction before and the only time he had seen these eyes was before Gordon had thumped Tony Hadley back in sixth grade. Gordon had grabbed Alan by the front of his jacket, clumps of the front grasped tightly in his white-knuckled fists.

"Gordon! Let go!" Alan exclaimed, trying to pull away and trying to dislodge himself somehow, his back also now beginning to ache from the force it had been hit with.

"_Who told you I was adopted?_" Gordon snapped, gripping the fabric tighter as if the pressure would give him the answer.

"What? No-one! It was just a joke! Jeez!"

"HEY!"

Both brothers turned at the sudden new voice. Virgil stood at the bottom two stairs, his coat half on and with a look of slight anger and confusion. "Gordon, let Alan go."

Gordon looked like he was contemplating whether to ignore Virgil's order for a moment, but with a one final deep glare at Alan, he released him and muttered, "Just keep the hell away from me."

With that said he grabbed one of the three paper bags in the porch and stormed out through the front door, yanking it close with an almighty SLAM! Alan tried to fix his crumpled front whilst desperately trying to think of what had done so much damage. He had only been joking. They had always said things like that between one enough before so what had changed? Virgil came down the last two steps, shaking his head.

"You okay, Al?" he replied, his eyes on the front door.

"I think so," he muttered quietly. "...but what did I do?"

"I don't know, Al. I don't know."

OMOMOMOM

The ride to school was as noisy as it normally one, girls sharing the latest gossip with one enough, a few boys in the middle swapping baseball card for another. The only difference were the three young Tracys, two sitting together at the front and the other sitting towards the back, head leaning on the window, deep in thought.

"_GORDON!" yelped two female voices from somewhere down the school corridor and an echo of laugher followed by running followed soon after! Gordon had been planning to prank the two popular girls in his grade for weeks and finally, he had been able to sneak into the girl's bathroom during an 'I need to go see the nurse' break. Who knew that a bucket of glue and glitter could make such much mess and yet such a fantastic look!_

"_Well, they wanted to look shiny," he sniggered to himself, halting near his locker and pulling the door open, using it as a shield from rival attacks. _

"_You think you're so funny, don't you, Tracy?"_

_These were one of the voices that Gordon had been hoping not to hear. He cringed slightly at the voice before taking a deep breath and shutting his locker. Standing beside him was the angry face of one of the school bullies, an older and in his opinion 'uglier' Tony Hadley. Gordon leant his back against the back of the locker door, a smug smile pulling at the corner of his lips. _

"_I'd say I'm pretty funny," he replied, looking right into Tony's eyes, the smile widening as he spoke. What could he say? That two glitter-covered girls wasn't absolutely hilarious?_

"_Well, you're not!" Tony growled, his face inching closer towards the comedic redhead. "You wouldn't be laughing if you knew what I knew."_

"_What's that, Hadley? You finally managed to get past second grade?" Gordon gasped, a look of mock-shock now on his face._

"_Laugh now, Tracey, but I bet your mom and dad were laughing harder when they got you from S. Michaels!" Tony spat, a look of a more deadly mocking now entering his eyes._

_Gordon's smile faded slightly, confusion setting in. What the hell was he talking about? He knew that St. Michael was the only orphanage in Kansas and that a couple of kids that went there came to this school. What did that have to do with him?_

"_You'd better take this," the trollish bully hissed, forcing a small piece of paper into Gordon's pocket and trudging off, an evil smile now present. The redhead scowled at the departing bully's back and leaving a moment, he pulled the paper out and opened it, the scowl immediately deepening at the words there. Normally, he would have just laughed at such a statement and dismissed it with a second thought and yet, those few words started pulling a feeling that he never expressed to anyone, including his family before. _

_The feeling that wasn't the right piece in the family. _

_His dad had dark hair and his mom had blonde. Obviously, John and Alan had gotten the blonde from their mother and Scott along with Virgil had Dad's brown, but nowhere in the mix was anyone ginger. He was pretty certain that his grandmother would have been brown when she was younger and he could hardly remember anyone else in his family having red hair. Why did he have it and no-one else?_

_There was only one explanation that he had come up with._

_He had been adopted._

Gordon shook his head, dispelling the memory from his head, hoping that no-one could see the tear that had somehow fallen down his during his thoughts. It couldn't be true. His parents would have told him! Maybe they were planning to when he was older, but then their mother had died and it had been forgotten. So many troubled thoughts were running feverishly through his mind, wishing that they would just go away.

How could he face his family knowing that they weren't really his?

An idea came to the front of his mind and suddenly, he knew what he had to do.

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**I know! I know! Don't kill me! This chapter wrote itself! People wanted to know how Gordon found the note so I had to explain it! You couldn't expect a note like that to be given nicely, could you? Next chapter should be done in the next few days!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, it's been a little while since I last posted another chapter! Would you believe me when I say I've had the flu, got kidnapped by Daleks down Cardiff in Wales and have been super busy for a few weeks! I hope so because that's what it's been like, even the Daleks! I promised loopstagirl and Sam1 that I would get this chapter so here I am! **

**Hello to the new people following me on Author/Story Alerts! I have cookies waiting for you in the VIP lounge! XD**

OMOMOMOMOMOMOM

School had never been invented to be fun, every child knew that. It was why so many look at the clock in class, willing for the handle to take on a life of its own and to go faster so the end of the day came faster. The fact that it was only the start filled some with dread, including Gordon. The first couple of classes decided to pass by with some relative ease, but dinner had a whole new meaning. He'd gone to lunch with whatever his grandmother had made for him yet had found himself handing the most of it to his friends. He'd tried to get himself to take a bite of his apple when a bump from behind caused him to almost drop it. It was Tony, wearing a rather smug sneer and leaning down.

"How you finding it, Tracy? Knowing that your fake whoever made you lunch," he hissed close to his Gordon's ear.

If he had gotten an inch closer, then he would have thumped him a second time but he couldn't do it again, not after such a long talk with his dad over the phone-com. He decided to choose do his best to ignore the comment and focus his gaze on the canteen. His heart gave a skip when he saw Virgil looking over from where he sat a questioning expression clear on his face, along with, un-noticed by the others around them but totally obvious from a family point of view, a look of annoyance. It wasn't often that Virgil showed his annoyance at much. He was just that kind of positive guy. However, even he couldn't shake the big brother protectiveness of a little bro being harassed. Gordon gave a quick shake of head to show that there was nothing wrong and was relieved to see the 'BBP' stepping down a notch and turning back to his friends.

He had never been good at Maths, no matter how many times his teacher tried to stuff the facts into his head or keep him behind after class to give him extra help sheets. Not that he let it known how bad he was, but he was on the road to a new personal record by doing zero work at all. Normally, he would have at least attempted some of the algebra, knowing that his father would shoot him into space if he came home with a failing grade on his report card. Mr Brunner had been looking at him for the past ten minutes as if trying to send him mental detention slips for his lack of attention. A sigh and a head on his desk showed what he thought of that problem. He had other things on his mind than trying to figure when x and y went.

He had until the end of the day before he could perform his plan. However, he was a Tracy and patience was not something that was written in their genetics. He gave a sarcastic huff at the thought of genes. Maybe that part of him came from a different person entirely. It would explain his jokester personality and how he always had a larger amount of energy than the others. A wave of self-revulsion shuddered through him, causing him to fold his arms in order to stop his fingers clenching on his desk.

"Mr Tracy, I see the outside world is better than calculating your questions,"

Gordon felt his body tense at the voice of his teacher. It wouldn't be so much a surprise that he and his teacher had previously gotten on rather well, putting lack of number skill aside. They both had a sense of humour which had connected them into a weird teacher/student relationship. The problem was that the friendship had slowly begun to die, thanks to the obvious, and even though Mr Brunner had tried to help without gaining attention from the other students, the redhead had no interest in being helped and would rather be left alone. He simply looked up from his desk and gave a nonchalant shrug.

"If that's the case, I suppose you wouldn't mind staying for a detention," Mr Brunner replied, his glasses poised on the bridge of his nose, his voice disapproving but his eyes full of barely concealed concern.

A jolt of guilt filled the young teen at the thought of another detention only a few days after his last. His grandmother would not only be thoroughly disappointed, but no doubt his dad would be contacted and informed of his 'unruly' behaviour. It would also ruin his plan for the afternoon so, gritting his teeth, he fixed his own gaze with that of his teacher.

"No, sir," he muttered, a tinge of red spread across his pale cheeks. "(x + 3)2 = x2 + 6x + 9 and (3a + 3b)2 = 9a2 + 18ab + 9b2 ."

He watched as Mr Brunner blinked in surprise of Gordon's answers. He didn't know whether the boy had realised what he had done, but he had managed to get the two questions completely right without even realising. He would have been impressed, but the fact that something was obviously wrong, he decided to praise him and gave a cough instead.

"Alright, but if I catch you daydreaming again, it's instant detention," he said, turning his front back towards the board, wondering whether he should inform one of his brothers of what had gone on just in case.

A sigh of relief escaped Gordon as he realised what a narrow escape that had been. He could have ruined everything. His relief intensified at the sound of the bell, marking the end of class. It was time to get going. He didn't even wait for his friends before throwing his stuff into his bag and pelting out of the door, not waiting for what the homework assignment would be. He was out of breath by the time he had reached his locker, shoved his bag in and pulled out his hoody. This piece of clothing had been banned from school by the principal due to some people using them to hide their appearance and vandalise the walls outside. Waiting for everyone to get into class, Gordon threw on the hoody and pulled up the offending hood. He had to be out of the corridor soon unless he wanted to bump into either the janitor or the Hall monitor. Something niggled at the back of his mind, trying to yell at him that Scott was picking up Virgil, Alan and him after school to go bowling and if he didn't turn, then the full wrath of the mother hen would be unleashed. Especially when his brothers have realised that he was catching three buses to the other side of the county.

There was only one way to find out if the vicious rumour was true and if it meant using every dollar from his saved allowance, then he would use it. Too many markers pointed to both it being true or false. He had remembered from a few years back, getting a drink from the kitchen when he heard his dad talking to his grandma about him and heard the sentence "_I sometimes wonder if Gordon was meant for this family!_" He couldn't ignore this anymore. He had to know. Grabbing his emptied bag, he gave a quick look around the corridor and walked quickly for the exit. His first bus was in about twenty minutes so he would have to be quick if he was going to make it in time. He stopped briefly at the double doors, throwing a glance over his shoulder towards the classroom that held his younger brother, Alan. He'd been meaning to apologise to the kid all day, but had no idea of what he could say to explain why he'd attacked him. The big brother in him had been mentally ticking him off all day for even physically hurting Al in that way. None of his older brothers had ever harmed each other in such a way, and he really didn't want to be the first. He was almost tempted to try and get Alan's attention at the classroom door window like they'd done when they were younger, but times changed and this was the one time where apologises would have to wait. More important things had to be dealt with first. Hoping that his first ever 'hookie' from school wouldn't tarnish his record forever; Gordon pulled his gaze away, shrugged his bag higher onto his shoulder and walked out.

OMOMOMOMOMOMOMOM

3.00 couldn't have come any faster for Alan. Learning Shakespeare was pretty awesome sometimes, but for a dead guy, his tragedies could kill a whole class at the right time of the day. That was right now and hoped that Melanie (the girl he had liked for a while) had not noticed the drool puddle that had collected nicely on his desk. He quickly wiped the corner of his mouth and jotted down notes that he could remember from his small nap. There was no way he could be tired now. Scott had finally gotten some time off from work and had planned a trip out to the local bowling alley with he Gordon and Virgil. John was off on a date with some girl in his grade and this was such an obvious ploy to keep both Gordo and him out of the way so not to ruin their blonde-haired brother's chances of love.

Psh, like they would do that!

He thanked whatever higher power existed when the final bell rang and packed his stuff away. He had promised to meet Scott in the parking lot at 3.10 so they could get off early and get a decent lane. Leaving with what he hoped was a cool grin to Melanie, Alan headed off in the direction of the lot. He couldn't but smile widely when he saw Scott sitting on the bumper of his car, his own smile evident when their eyes met.

"'Sup, Sprout?" he grinned, taking the bag of Alan's shoulder and throwing it into the boot of the car.

"Not much! Only just an A+ in my English paper!"

"Alright, Al!" Scott exclaimed, high-fiving his little brother. "Looks like Johnny has a competition for class genius!"

Alan rolled his eyes with a smirk, knowing that there was no chance in him ever taking John's clever crown. He had practically been worshipped by all the teachers for his grades.

"Where's Gordo? Thought he'd be chomping at the bit to get going," Scott asked, arms folded in a pensieve fashion. This was when Alan's frown appeared once more, wondering the exact same thing.

"No idea," he muttered, looking around the lot for any sign of his brother's red hair. It wasn't as if many of the students had the same intensity of colour, but no luck. He wasn't anywhere to be seen. As he was beginning to wonder if Gordon had forgotten and had caught the bus back home, one of Gordon's best friends, PJ, came jogging over to them with some papers in his hand.

"Yo, Tracys! Can you give this to Gord? He missed a test in History and thought he'd want to catch up later!"

Scott pushed himself off his bumper and taking the papers, his previous expression replaced with a mixture of confusion and a hint of concern. "What do you mean? Wasn't he there?"

PJ shook his head.

"He was with us in Maths, but never turned up to last class. We figured he'd just gone to the nurse or something."

Both brothers thanked the boy and then turned to each other, sharing the same worried look. Gordon was a prankster and a bit of easy trouble, but never had he skipped a class before. It just wasn't him. Alan gazed up at his eldest brother, worry now shining within his eyes.

"Scott, where's Gordon?"

OMOMOMOMOM

**Look! Gordon did a vanishing trick! ISN'T HE AMAZING? **

**Okay, so where do you think our young Tracy has wondered off to! He could go anywhere! Let me know in the reviews!**


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